TRANSIT took note of the following article describing changes to bus service in Johor Baru, with a new “no pick up” order for Jalan Wong Ah Fook, diversion of urban stage buses to Larkin Sentral, and a new free shuttle bus connecting the two areas.

JOHOR Baru City Council has come up with a solution to the the problem of traffic congestion in Jalan Wong Ah Fook, which it believes is caused by the long queue of stage buses waiting for passengers.

The council recently announced that effective May 1, all stage buses plying the northwest route, which is basically the Skudai corridor, may only drop off passengers by the road. They will not be allowed to pick up passengers.

TRANSIT took note of this news from Ipoh, where Ipoh City Council is looking to reorganize and improve its focus on public transport services. As is typical we see bluster and calls for enforcement but little about the structural problems within the public transport industry.

While TRANSIT has traditionally focused on the Klang Valley and Penang we are seeing a growing demand for public transport in Johor Baru and the Iskandar Development Region.

More importantly, Perbadanan PAIM is the best example of a Local/Regional Public Transport Organizing Authority that we can find in Malaysia. What makes Perbadanan PAIM interesting is that they focus on administration, organization and planning, rather than providing the services themselves…as can be seem from the list of Bus Operators.

This is much more efficient and effective than the current situation in Penang and the Klang Valley, where government-owned companies RapidKL & RapidPenang are engaged in unhealthy and inefficient competition with private bus companies, and information delivery is limited, discouraging public transport users.

This is also more efficient than the current situation in Melaka, where the state government has decided to buy out private bus operators, or in Putrajaya where Pengangkutan Awam Putrajaya is having trouble getting passengers because it is stuck in Putrajaya (rather than serving as the Regional Public Transport Organizing Authority for the Langat Valley from Hulu Langat-Kajang-Putrajaya-Dengkil-Sepang, as TRANSIT has recommended).

And of course the arrangements used by Pernadanan PAIM are much more efficient than public transport that depends exclusively on private corporations…an approach that has ultimately failed public transport users in cities and regions throughout the country.

So please, take a good look at Perbadanan PAIM and give them your feedback…so a good thing can become better. And as always your comments and suggestions and feedback are welcomed. Please add your thoughts to the comments below.